This is Throwback Thursday #303. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to  esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks!  email:esconi.info@gmail.com.

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25 Years Ago – February 2001

• The General Meeting featured a presentation by long-time ESCONI members David and Sheila Bergmann. The topic was “Dinosaur Digging in the Canadian Rockies”.
• The Mineralogy/Micromount study group was looking at Iron County microminerals. Dan Behnke led with a slide program.
• “Fossils From Florida” was the topic of the Paleontology Study Group meeting.
• The Burpee Museum in Rockford, IL held their “Out of the Rocks Paleo Festival” at the end of February. Featured speakers included Peter Larson, John Horner, Niles Eldredge, Karen Chin, Don Lessem, Gabrielle Lyon, Dennis Kolata, Chris Ott and Laura Buckley.
• “Karen’s Komments” brought news of a new Carnosaur from Japan, another Chinese bird, and DINOFEST 2000.
• Scientific American published “The Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs”. It is a compilation of chapters by various experts in the field, including Tom Holtz,, Greg Paul, Michael Benton, George Olshevsky, David Norman, James Farlow, Phil Currie, Bob Bakker, and Walter Alvarez.

50 Years Ago – February 1976

• John and Dorothy Ade did a presentation about their South Pacific trip for the General Meeting. They visited New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, and Somoa.
• The Downers Grove Juniors watch a film from Coronet Films of Chicago entitled “Fossils: From Site to Museum”. It featured Eugene Richardson, Jr. of the Field Museum and started with a fossil hunt at Pit 11. Anyone know if there is video of this available. There isn’t a link on the Wikipedia page.
• The Lapidary Study Group was making wire-wrapped jewelry.
• At the Paleontology Study Group meeting, Larry Osterberger did a presentation on “How to Collect”. He discussed localities, fossil preparation, and how to research an area.
• The Sun-Times article “Jawbones Push Man Back 40,000 Centuries Ago”. That’s about 4 million year ago in normal English. The article discussed the bones found by the Leakeys in Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge.
• The Lizzadro Museum had a slide-lecture by Doris Kemp about Turquoise.
• There was a field trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum and the geological and mineral exhibits at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Campus.

70 Years Ago – February 1956

• The Regular Meeting topic was “Indian American Today”. It was presented by Mrs. Gertrude E. Lewis. “A very fine sound and color motion picture titled “Arts and Crafts of the Southwest Indian” will be shown.” Sound and color films weren’t always common back then!
• The Berwyn and Riverside junior groups were learning about mineral identification.
• The Downers Grove Junior Group was learning the “Highlights in Steel Making”.
• “Conchology” was the topic of the Paleontology Study Group.
• The 3rd article in the “Know Your Minerals” series was published in the newsletter.